Partner With Us THE BENEFITS OF PLANNED CHARITABLE GIVINGPlanned giving is an organized approach to giving to charitable organizations that best reflect the donor’s values, and maximizes the
financial and tax benefits of the gifts. There are several reasons why people do not use planned gifts: Planned giving takes time, many don’t know enough about the details or benefits of planned giving, many perceive planned giving as too complex and too expensive and some worry about jeopardizing their own financial situation through giving. Read below to learn the benefits of planned giving.
Involvement. The nature of charitable giving has been changing in recent years. Donors want to maintain greater management over how their gifts are spent. Instead of simply writing a check to a charity that makes the distribution decisions, they want to be actively involved in seeing that their money targets the charities they are interested in. That’s why those who plan their donations often establish various foundations or charitable remainder trusts or contribute to donor-advised funds.
Stewardship of your money. Planned giving makes use of techniques that maximize the dollar amount that ultimately benefits the donor and the charity. For example, the gifting of stock may avoid the donor’s payment of capital gains taxes, and would also benefit the charity by receiving a larger gift.
Tax benefits. Although many people make donations out of a genuine desire to give, tax benefits play an important role. For one thing, tax benefits often make it financially feasible for the donor to make a gift. Charitable remainder trusts and gift annuities, for example, provide the donor with lifetime income while also benefiting the charity.
Teach your children. Planned giving can be an excellent way to involve the donor’s children. They can help decide who is to receive gifts and learn the good that can be done by charitable giving. They can also see for themselves how lives are improved and changed.
Provide a legacy. Some donors wish to leave an ongoing legacy, something that generally can’t be done with standard checkbook giving. The options for making planned gifts are many. They include bequests made through wills, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, private and community foundations, charitable annuities, and donor-advised funds, to name only a few. Each option presents advantages and disadvantages, so you will want to review those options with your financial planner or other charitable expert to see which ones best fit your values and personal financial situation. |
